3 Dec 2010

Police cleared over two fatal pursuits

6:44 pm on 3 December 2010

Investigations into two fatal police pursuits have found that the officers involved were not at fault.

Two Independent Police Conduct Authority reports issued on Friday, say that in both cases police decisions were lawful, reasonable and justified.

Two motorcyclists, Steven Gorrie and Makoto Izumi, died near Warkworth in April, when they crossed the centre line, hitting a car and injuring its driver and a passenger, as they tried to evade police at high speed.

In February, Ricky Forbes died near Murchison after the car in which he was a passenger sped away from police, hitting a tree.

Authority head, Justice Lowell Goddard, recommended for a second time that police find out whether chasing motorcycles is more dangerous than chasing other vehicles.

In other cases over the past year, the agency found police breached policy or should have abandoned chases in two fatal pursuits. Another case showed police were not at fault.

Lobby group Biker's Rights Organisation is backing calls for police to review their policy on pursuing speeding motorcyclists.

President Les Mason says there are too many case where a minor offence has triggered a pursuit that has led to a motorcyclist's death.